


The Ties That Bind

by Notsyrups



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:53:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22966489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Notsyrups/pseuds/Notsyrups
Summary: Claude and Byleth have a bond that is unbreakable. Follow Byleth as she discovers what that means for her and her unbeating heart.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 9
Kudos: 62





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still working on my writing techniques, so I promise I am working a lot on my poor writing skills. I just have a lot of feelings about Claude/Byleth and needed to get them on ... paper? screen? I wanted to write, lol.

Gentle fingers trace over a discarded arrowhead. A thumbnail slip into a groove that had been scratched into the stone, and dried blood gathers at the top. The particles fall to the floor with a cool breath blown. Byleth sits in her quarters, a stack of old arrows sitting aside her on the bed.

A soft snore echoes off the walls, and Byleth’s dark eyes look up slowly. Sitting at her desk was a certain Golden Deer leader. Claude had shown up at her door about two hours ago, looking tired as hell. He had told her that he couldn’t sleep, that the battle from the night previous had exhausted him more than he’d realized, but he couldn’t bring himself to dream of the men he’d slain.

Byleth had just opened her door wider and motioned for him to come inside. He had sat at her desk, and during his regaling the night he’d had… fallen asleep. Byleth hummed and draped a spare blanket over his shoulders. _He’s too young for all this responsibility_ , she thought to herself. A shrill voice sounds in her head to remind her that she is too young for this as well.

She’d come to the monastery only moons ago and chosen the Golden Deer with ease. Claude made it an easy decision, he seemed like the least likely out of the three house leaders to cause her grief. But Rhea had been assigning tougher and tougher missions, and her students were finally showing the toll it was taking. Her lips purse at the thought, why is it her class who has these missions?

Byleth finished cleaning out the last arrowhead and tied it back onto the shaft. Gathering the rest of the bundle, she made her way to her wardrobe. The wooden closet was only good for weapon storage, Byleth was a woman of simple means after all. She opened the right door as quietly as she could, but the creak from the door is enough.

“Huh!” A gasp, and Claude sits upright immediately. The grey woolen blanket falls from his shoulders and sits on the back of the chair. Claude’s arms brace for impact, his left hand gripping the desk tightly and his right gripping the back of the chair. His wide eyes dart around the room before landing on Byleth, and a calm washes over him.

“Sorry, Teach,” he laughs, his eyes tired. The dark circles under his eyes give way to the sleepless nights. Sothis coos in her mind _Poor thing needs a good night’s rest._

Byleth sends him a small smile. She places the arrows in their quiver and closes the wardrobe door with a soft _click_. She picks up the blanket and drapes it over his shoulders once again, tugging it closed in the front. Claude allows his arms to be tucked into the blanket, his head falling back onto the desk. His dark curls pool around the papers, and his forehead is exposed.

Through half-lidded eyes he peers up at Byleth, a grateful smile reaching his eyes. She pets his forehead, a soothing gesture her father used with her once. The curls slip through her fingers, and she squats down beside him to continue running her fingers through his hair as he falls back asleep. He hums softly, the corners of his lips turning up slightly. The methodical way Byleth stroked his hair was close to putting her to sleep as well. Once Claude was sufficiently snoozing, Byleth took her hand away and blew out the candles around the room. There was no use in fighting sleep, too. Laying down on her bed, she took some comfort in the last image she saw being Claude’s back.

The next day, Byleth woke to grey. The blanket that she’s given Claude had been laid over her, and she was curled into it. Sothis’ voice in her ear yelled to get up, that the morning was all but gone. Byleth sat upright, swinging her legs over the bed, the wooden floor cold to the touch.

Today was her free day anyway, she could lay in bed all she wanted. Sothis bit back that she had obligations to attend to, and with a wave of her hand and a sigh, Byleth stood up and made her way to the wardrobe.

Opening her door, the sun bleeds into her eyes. A few blinks later she heads out the door and to her right. She has a system at this point: greenhouse, mess hall, courtyard. If she still has the energy after that, Cathedral, stables, and the marketplace. After that? She spends the time fulfilling everyone’s requests. If there are any students along her way throughout the monastery, she’ll talk to them… but the only person she seeks out if unable to find them is Claude.

She doesn’t stop to think about what that means.

The sun starts to set once Byleth is sitting with Lysithea and Cyril in the mess hall. The golden sun pours into the room and reflects off Cyril’s amber eyes. Lysithea leans into him and whispers something in his ear, and a hearty laugh escapes from him as he looks over to her, raising a hand to flip a piece of her bangs away from her eyes. Her face was scrunched up in laughter, and Byleth caught herself sighing.

She looks over and sees Felix, Sylvain, and Ingrid huddled together. Sylvain catches her gaze and winks, but it’s Ingrid and Felix who are tuned out from anyone around them. She hears phrases like “downwind” and “wider stance” and sees Felix flick his wrist like he’s holding his sword. Byleth raises a hand to wave at Sylvain before turning her attention elsewhere again. Hilda and Marianne are chatting, new transfer Annette is talking to another of her transfers, Caspar. Byleth bites her bottom lip, it seems she’ll be left behind soon.

A hand clamps down on her right shoulder, and a smooth voice whispers in her ear, “worried, Teach?” Byleth looks over, and emerald eyes have golden specks in the sunlight. He quirks an eyebrow at her, and throws his head to the side quickly. He makes his leave from the mess hall, looking back at her before exiting. _He wants you to follow_ , Sothis chides. Byleth bites down, hard, and makes her leave.

Lysithea and Cyril didn’t notice.

Claude waits for her on the dock, sitting with his feet over the edge. There is room to his right for her to sit, and a fishing pole sitting aside. Her footfall is soft, and when she sits the only indication he gives that her presence is known is his hand being put out to help guide her to her sitting position.

“Are you gonna tell me what’s bothering you, Teach?” he asks, eyes not leaving the water. Byleth takes the fishing pole and out of her bait box she keeps by the pier, pushes a plump worm onto the hook.

“I don’t actually know what the issue is,” she states. She throws the line out, the bauble making a quiet splash.

“Y’know we head out to Remire soon.” Claude changes the tune, “that’s where we first met.” He nudges her shoulder.

She smiles wide, looking over at him. “I know,” she nudges back. “The circumstances of our return is…”

“Less than ideal,” Claude finishes. Byleth hums her response. “Do we have our strategy yet?”

Byleth’s line tugs and she flicks her wrist up to start reeling it in. “Yes and no,” she explains, “we know there are hostiles and we know there are civilians,” the fish tugs hard on the line, and Byleth swears.

“How will we handle the civilians that a _re hostile_?” Claude questions, grabbing the fish basket to his left. His hands wrap around the wicker, loose strands poking his thumbs.

The fish plops out of the water loudly, it thrashes about while Byleth attempts to grab out at it. “Obviously, I don’t want to kill them. Just neutralize them, but I don’t know how we will do that if they’re actively killing others.”

The fish lands in the basket, thrashes, and slowly dies. Claude places the basket behind them and takes the rod from Byleth. “I know you’ll think of somethin’ Teach.” He places a hand on her shoulder. “You always do.”

They spend the final hours of daylight fishing and talking strategy, laughing and exchanging battle stories. Suddenly, Byleth doesn’t feel as strange anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post Remire incident, Byleth needs some comfort.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to keep along with what happens in the game and what I think woulda been nice.

Byleth lays on her left side in bed. Her right index finger wraps itself around a lone thread coming off her pillow. _He’s dead._ Her thoughts race, those words looping in her mind for hours at a time. Her head is pounding – whether from the crying or from the hoops her brain is going through to make sense of it all.

 _Child, are you alright?_ Sothis says in her mind. All Byleth can do is close her eyes as a resounding ‘no.’ _If you need to cry, that is fine. But you must face your students soon, they’ll lose heart as well if you don’t._

Byleth thinks of her house: Leonie must be suffering just as horribly as she. Jeralt was another father to her, after all. Hilda, Marianne, and Annette must all be huddled together in a silent prayer – even if Hilda’s intentions are just to not be alone. Caspar, Raphael and Felix are in the training grounds throwing punches and clashing swords. She can hear Felix’s cry from her quarters. Sylvain is no doubt comforting Ingrid, and Cyril Lysithea.

 _What will Claude do?_ Sothis chimes in, and Byleth opens her eyes again. Yes, what is he up to? Is he hunched over in the library, coming up with schemes to avenge his death? Is he asking around about the Flame Emperor he missed out on meeting (again)? _Does he even care?_ Of course, he cares! Byleth sits upright. Claude would care, not only because of the great injustice that happened, but because _Byleth_ cares. Claude had been her one constant since coming to the monastery, she liked to think she knew him fairly well.

As Byleth is sitting upright, a sharp knock is heard at her door. Just one. _Claude_ , Sothis grins. Claude is calculating at all times, but when it comes down to it he doesn’t waste movements. He doesn’t wait for her to let him in, choosing instead to open the door with a creak.

“Teach?” His voice nearly cracks, and Byleth sees the puffiness in his eyes. He’s cried too. He’s holding a tea set in his hands, the grip white-knuckled on the handles.

Byleth can’t help a small smile. She wipes her remaining tears away and meets him halfway. She takes the tray from him and sets it on her desk and moves past him to close the door in one swift movement. “I hope you brought the Almyran Pine Needle tea,” she shoots at him over her shoulder. When her eyes meet his, a smile had already reached them.

“You know I did,” he pulls a square metal container the size of a fist from his pocket and shakes it in her direction. He places the tin on the desk and turns around to grab the extra wool blankets from the bed and places one on the floor as a make-shift rug. Byleth grabs the matches and starts the process of heating up the tea. Claude sets up everything on the floor, using spare pillows as their seats.

After a few minutes of silence, Claude finally breaks the silence as Byleth passes him a cup of tea. “I’m sorry, Teach.” Byleth pauses slightly but keeps her face carefully stoic. “I’ve been trying to figure out what I could have done to prevent this,” his eyebrows furrow together, “if I hadn’t been so busy with helping route the remaining enemies…”

Byleth puts a hand in front of her to silence him, “Claude, it’s not your fault.” _No one can escape fate_ , Sothis had told her. Now that someone else was trying to blame themselves, Byleth knew it to be true. If the Divine Pulse couldn’t save him, nothing would. Claude not being there was for the best, what if Monica had tried to kill him too? Byleth was… not lucky, but fortunate that only one person was harmed. Even if that person was her father.

“I miss him a lot already, but the only thing I can do now is fight.”

“If you want revenge, I’ll gladly jump into that goal with you.”

Byleth’s head snaps up. “What?”

“I want you to be by my side when I see my goals achieved, you know that. I was thinking,” he scratches the back of his neck, “that I would happily do the same with you. Even if it’s revenge. Even if it’s killing. I want to help you in any way I can.”

“Thank you, Claude.” She says. She means it. _Revenge is not justice, Child._ Byleth clears her throat and drinks another sip of her tea, “Thank you, but that isn’t necessary.”

Claude quirks a brow at her and cocks his head to the left, “but,”

“I will get revenge on those who killed my father, but I need you to keep your hands clean of that. I need you to help me grieve when it is all over, could you do that for me?” Claude’s calloused hand reaches over and lays atop of her own. When she meets his gaze, he squeezes her hand lightly and nods.

“Anything.”

When Byleth leaves her room the next day, she is greeted by her Deer with enthusiasm. They commend her on her recovery, and all take turns crushing her against themselves. Even Felix, who grumbled in her general direction his condolences had taken her hand in his and squeezed tightly.

In Jeralt’s office, Sothis reminds her of the item he had tasked her with finding. Beyond just the journal, Byleth found her mother’s wedding ring. The emerald gem caught the light, and a fleeting thought of a man’s eyes flashed through her mind. _What will you do with it?_ Sothis asks quietly. Clicking heels sounds louder and louder through the hallway, and Byleth quickly hides the ring in her bustier. Her bangs flit in front of her face and she turns on a dime to face the door.

Claude stands in the door frame, hands behind his head. “A-Ah! Teach!” Byleth deadpans at him, it’s obvious now that he hadn’t expected to see her here. He pleads with her eyes for a silent permission into the room, and when Byleth looks away to the journal she had sat down on her father’s desk, he takes the opportunity to take a step into the room.

A small hand slips over the journal and picks it up, and her thumb rubs the pleather cover. “Looking for something, Claude?” Her eyes dart over to him again, looking up through her lashes.

He points at the journal, “actually, I think it might be that, care to explain, Teach?”

 _What does he want with this?_ Byleth assumed he wanted to delve deeper into whatever anti-church rhetoric might be in the pages from Jeralt’s youth. Claude was as wary of the church as her father had been, and with Rhea getting more and more intense with every passing moon, it should not come as a surprise that he wants the journal.

“Is that his journal? Teach do you think I could…” his fingers wiggle anxiously at his side.

Sighing, Byleth walks over to him and places the book into his right palm. “I trust you Claude, you’ll read some interesting things in here. Have it back by tomorrow.”

“Ah- good. I was hoping you’d let me borrow it, I didn’t want to have to sneak in and steal it later.” He laughs, but it wasn’t a joke. Byleth just nods shortly and walks through the doors.

Jeralt’s death effects all in different ways it seems.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO!  
> Sorry for the delay! The last few months got a bit hectic. I moved cross country ;n;   
> It's taken me a hot minute to get re-settled. So, hopefully this chapter is decent! This deals with the whole hair-change sequence, and how I dealt with it vs how the game did lmao 
> 
> short chapter, i know ... my b

The purple fog encapsulated Byleth, about 10 yard from where Claude stood with his bow poised. Along with the rest of the Deer, she had surrounded Monica and was ready to end her life with a single blow… some strange people came down to assist Monica, Solon? Tomas? What even is his name, now. But, nonetheless, the fog descended and Teach was gone.

Hilda let out a scream as Solon turned to them, “Finally, the Fell Star is no more.” Claude scanned behind him to his fellow students, and saw Marianne fall to her knees, and Lysithea fall against Sylvain whose eyes were as wide as dinner plates. 

“Teach isn’t dead,” Claude musters, his voice not failing him, “There’s no way!”

“No, Fell Star isn’t dead, her fate is much worse - in darkness for eternity!” A chuckle bounces off the pillars crumbling around them. But it was music to Claude’s ears.

“All I hear is that she’s alive.”

Slowly, the students rise up, “Yeah! The professor wouldn’t give up as long as there is a chance!” Hilda smirks, gripping her axe’s handle so tightly her knuckles turn a bright white. She takes a few steps to stand aside Claude, and though her eyes never leave Solon, Claude knows she’s with him. 

“Now that we know, Teach is probably on her way back. Let’s fight through this everyone!” The Deer cheers behind him, and Claude looses an arrow in Solon’s direction, whilst Hilda ducks down when she runs forward to strike.

\---

“I don’t want to die here,” Byleth worries her bottom lip between her teeth as she paces through the darkness. She can still sense Sothis with her, though the little deity seems to be ignoring her more than ever now. “I’m so foolish… I rushed in with no real PLAN!” her palms dig into her eyes and she crouches down. How will she get out of this one?

“Something we agree on,” a voice snaps. Sothis stands before her, a slip of a girl. Byleth looks up at her from her crouching position, and the tears flow more than ever. Sothis sighs and takes a small hand and smooths Byleth’s hair down. “It is not completely your fault, Little One.” Byleth falls into Sothis, and as they’re huddled, Sothis speaks softly to her. “This just means our time together has come to an end. I am Sothis, the beginning, and you the Progenitor God…” she sighs and looks up as tears prick her eyes as well. “Blast that Rhea… I had hoped to see her and reprimand her…” 

Byleth looks up through wet eyelashes, “Sothis?”  
Sothis smiles and lets tears slip down, “I do not mean I will cease to exist… we will just be one. I will give you the power to leave this place, and return to your Children as I had longed to return to mine.” She grips Byleth by the biceps and helps her stand.

“Will you accept me?” Sothis asks, knowing well the answer.

Byleth only nods.

\---  
Claude reaches behind to find another arrow in his quiver, but finds he is out. He tosses his bow aside and grabs the small handaxe at his belt. 

A blinding light shines nearby, a 6 foot crescent. Hilda rushes to Claude and places a hand on his arm, her axe limp in her other hand. Claude’s attention is stuck to the light, as the crescent opens to show a black void, and a blade.

The Sword of the Creator!

Byleth jumps down from the slice of time, her hair a shining, vibrant, mint. 

Claude notes that she’s never looked more radiant.

Byleth, with a single swipe of her sword, brings Solon to his knees. The fight continues. Byleth looks back and sweeps her gaze across her students. Some are on the ground, Marianne and Lysithea healing them with their white magic. Her stare settles on Claude - but just for a moment before returning her attention to Solon.

Claude had a second wind to fight, and as he ran to her side, stopped to pull arrows out of the fallen Demonic Beasts.

After a stressing 15 minutes, the fight was over. Solon defeated. Claude and Byleth stood aside Hilda and Leonie, the latter of whom was putting bandages on Hilda’s upper arm. “Now that that’s over,” he starts, “that hair! Those eyes! Spill!”  
Byleth takes a strand of her hair and brings it to where she can see. Claude can see the tears that threaten to spill down Byleth’s cheeks. 

So she tells him. Of the Goddess, of her sacrifice, and of her burdens of the past moons.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of ground is covered in this chapter, but also not really lmao... thank you everyone for your comments and kudos! I really appreciate it!! <3

Edelgard’s betrayal comes as a surprise to all. Except for Claude and Byleth. When she is unmasked in the battle in the crypt, their faces don’t show anything other than disappointment. Edelgard’s eyes widen… whether in shame or in shock no one can tell. She prattled off on how she had wished it had gone a different way, how she didn’t mean for it to happen this way but the Church! They were the reason why!

Hilda was the first to speak, with a very angry Leonie gripping her wrist, “You killed Jeralt!”   
Leonie snips after, adding, “You had the audacity to pretend to be our friend afterward!”

Edelgard’s glance lands firmly on Byleth, who thanks herself for her stony expression. “I had nothing to do with that. You do have my deepest condolences, really, professor.”

“You had everything to do with it!” Leonie snaps again, her grip on Hilda’s wrist tightening.

Edelgard sighs, and Rhea commands Byleth to end her. There was no hesitation.

\---  
“Edelgard is storming Garreg Mach within the week.” Claude states, walking into Byleth’s room one night. He’s pissed, and pacing. His hair was disheveled and he brought a map with him. A pencil is tucked behind his right ear. “A week!”

Byleth looks up from where she was sitting at her desk. She had a book on the terrain of Garreg Mach in front of her, her gradebook on the left hand side, and a piece of parchment on the right where she had been jotting down notes. Her left hand pointer finger lay on some words about the woods surrounding the monastery, and it doesn’t move when she turns her body to face him. 

She blinks at him a few times as an acknowledgement, and he continues. “The girl is trying to win with some dirty tricks,” he walks further into the room and sets his map down on the bed, spreading it out. He whispers to himself, “though I would’ve done the same thing.” Without looking back, he waves his left hand for Byleth to come over. With a roll of her eyes and a quick mark of her pencil where her finger was, she follows.

“See here?” Claude points, the front of the monastery’s layout made plain, “this is really the only way in or out. They’ll attack here first.” Byleth nods, “Though they’ll probably try to set the battle in the fields right before the entrance. If we can corner them and herd them into the gateway, they’ll be trapped in a funnel.” His eyes lift up to hers, wary, “they would be picked off one by one.”

Byleth shakes her head, “No. She would have thought of that. Besides being an excellent student she’s also the next in line for an Empire it’s no doubt she’s been trained in this for years.” She waves a finger onto the map where the fields would be, “besides, what makes you think she won’t use that as an opportunity to herd us?” her finger comes up to poke Claude’s cheek. “She’s the entire Empire. We’re a school. We’re outnumbered 3:1 no matter what… at least.”

Claude’s head droops, “So our only choice is the open-field battle?” 

Byleth shrugs, “unless we can figure something out in a week… yeah. Otherwise in attempting to surround them, we will be surrounded. That helps no one but them.” She moves the map and sits on the bed, patting the space beside her. Claude’s lips quirk into a small smile and he sits beside her. She rests her head on his shoulder, and he lets his head rest on hers. Whatever comes of this next fight, they’d face it together. Like the team they are.

The rest of the week that followed, Byleth along with Claude, Seteth, and occasionally Rhea sat in Seteth’s office with the map sprawled across his desk. 

“We could use fire traps?” Seteth offered.

“I thought the whole point was to NOT lose the monastery.” Claude replied.  
“What choice do we have? We cannot bottleneck, we cannot hope to win in a straight collision… it is near hopeless otherwise. We may lose part of the monastery but still win.” Seteth looks exhausted, but like Claude and Byleth, still trucks on.

“Well… we could combine these efforts.” Byleth starts. She taps the courtyard of the monastery with her finger. “We could set up a stronghold at the marketplace, they’d come in to attack, definitely. But we have a relatively strong holding place here. We close off and barricade what we can, other than our hopefully secret,” she stresses the last part to Claude, “entrance for exchange of troops. If we can slowly pick them off we might have a chance. This battle would last way longer, but it may not end in a defeat right away.”

“And for the fire?” Claude’s eyes flick from Seteth to Byleth.

“We can set up fire traps to guide them into a bottleneck if possible. Granted any set up needs to happen tonight if we’re to get this done in time. Under the dark of night, so the scouts out there already don’t see exactly what we’re doing.”

“What about the villages?”

Byleth rubs her chin, her lips pressed into a thin line. “Evacuate them. Maybe into Abyss below Garreg Mach?” 

“I’ll ask Yuri his thoughts on that,” Claude nods a quick goodbye to the room and rushes out to speak to his colleague. If anyone knew the practicality of Abyss, it was he. 

“I hope you know what you’re doing, professor.” Seteth says, looking her in the eye.

“I hope so too.”

\---

Yuri and the rest of the Abyssians came out to help usher the villagers into the lower levels of the monastery. He had said quick pleasantries to Byleth on the way back up, commending her on the idea. He had promised his forces, or rather what forces he could provide, for the upcoming endeavor. 

Claude, Sylvain, Felix, and Caspar were the band in charge of rushing out to set up the fire traps. To make them within a pattern that wasn’t completely obvious was a trick. They had to account for flying units in how big the flames should reach, and how big the pit itself could be without becoming noticeable. But, they came back unscathed other than Sylvain and Caspar who had ash and charcoal on their faces.

Hilda and Marianne were helping others figure out where the medical tents would be set up within the monastery, and Cyril and Raphael (with the reluctant leader of Lorenz) were setting up the barricades throughout the entrance of the buildings. 

Byleth was with Rhea on the hillside, as the Imperial camps set up on the treeline. Rhea had asked her here, and Byleth had no room to say no. Though there were a million other things she should be doing. “Professor,” Rhea starts, a soft hand grasping out to hold Byleth’s calloused one. “You will take my place, when I am gone.”

“What?”

“You will lead the church,” Rhea urges, “You are Sothis’ chosen, and that means the world.”

Byleth had never wanted Sothis to speak to her so badly. Instead she opted to look away, to the monastery where she could see her students working fervently. “When this is all said and done, when I am no more, everyone’s lives are in your hands.” Rhea releases Byleth, and walks solitary back to the monastery, leaving Byleth with her thoughts.

\---

Nightfall came swiftly, and Byleth was sitting on the same hill as before. She stared out into the field, and saw the Imperial forces’ campfires and war cheers. It sent shivers down her spine to think of the students she’s come to love, and the fact that some may not live to see the next sundown. 

“Bullion for your thoughts, Teach?” a familiar voice chimes. The grass on her right gives way to the body that sits upon it. Claude sits closer to her than he probably should have, he leans back on his hands, his right hand sitting on the grass patch right behind her. Their shoulders touch, and Claude huffs. “It’s tomorrow, huh?”

Byleth nods, letting her head fall onto Claude’s shoulder. “Everything will change.”

Claude’s head leans against hers, and he smiles a little. “Not everything. We’ll still be here.”

“Will we?”

Claude leans away and looks at her. Byleth sits back upright and her eyes are trained on her shoes. “Teach…” he lifts his right hand, shifting his weight, and brushes his knuckles against her cheek, a solitary tear wetting them. “What’s going on? You’ve never been like this before a battle.”

“I had more time to prepare!” she shouts, hands flying to her eyes, the heel of her palms digging in deep. “It’s a half-baked plan, it may not even work, and I can protect my class… barely! Let alone an entire school whose morale has been shattered…” she curls into herself, and Claude moves to sit facing her.

“Byleth.” He says.

Her head snaps up and towards him.

“Your plan is as good as ANYONE can do in a week’s notice. You’ve stayed calmer than most leaders around here. Seteth, Hanneman, and Manuela have all been eerily silent, cooped up in their offices. Rhea is off doing Goddess knows what, and Catherine and Shamir have been too preoccupied to care.” He gesticulated wildly, “but you!” A heavy sigh, “You’ve thought of this plan. Mostly on your own. You helped figure out a way to get the civilians to safety. You’ve prepared the Golden Deer for this moment whether you know it or not. You’ve been with us every step of the way.”

His voice goes soft and he grabs her hand that lay forgotten in her lap. He brings the hand to his chest and lets her fingers sprawl across. A heartbeat is felt underneath her fingertips, and her eyes flicker from her hand to his eyes a few times before settling with his eyes. “I’m alive, thanks to you. From the moment we met, you’ve saved me over and over. I will still be here when this is over, because you prepared me. The Deer will be here because you prepared them.

“You stood by our side with our first kills, you helped the homesick cook meals that made them feel loved, you made sure if anyone was in danger first it was you.” He takes a breath, “and we all love you for that.” His eyes meet hers, a hidden meaning behind his words.

“And I know that when this is over… we will meet again. There are too many things I need to accomplish, and I cannot see our dreams come to fruition without you at my side. Teach… no… friend? No that’s not it either. There are no words to describe what you’ve come to mean to me. So I will just say this, this is not the end for us, Byleth. Not by a long shot.”

She nods silently and leans into him, sliding her hands around him for an embrace so tight it knocks the wind out of the both of them. 

“But, if you’re going to continue to be of use to us, you need sleep before this battle tomorrow. I will see you then, okay?” She nods, and they part ways.

Then, in the noon sky, when the sun is beating down and the only sounds are screams and swords a-clashing, she falls. Her yell sends a message to Claude across the field, who astride Dimitri goes pale as he sees the cliff crumble beneath her feet, and she is tossed into darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the reunion chapter.... it hurt me just a smidge

Darkness, that is all that Byleth can see. No, see isn’t right… feel? Experience? Sense? Either way, Byleth was lost in it. She couldn’t see, but then again, were her eyes even open?

Wake up!

What? Byleth’s eyebrows crease together, confusion and exhaustion fight for her mind’s greatest response. She just wants to rest.

Are you going to sleep forever?

Well, for at least a few more minutes!

Oh… enough of this! I said wake up!

Byleth shoots up straight. Sitting in the shallow end of a riverbank, the water weighs heavy on her cloak. Her legs are still in the water, and the rest of her is washed upon the sandbar of the river. Her hair sticks to her forehead and cheeks, and she looks around with heavy breaths. She rolls over and leans on her hands and knees, coughing out any water that remains. 

“Uh, you okay, Miss?” Byleth’s head snaps up, her eyes widening and she sits back on her heels, right hand hovering over where her sword should be.

Instead, the man offers his arm to her. She hesitates only a moment before grabbing onto his forearm with her sword hand. She manages to her feet, albeit clumsily. “What,” she takes a deep breath, “What day is it?”

“What? It’s what would’ve been the millennium festival at the monastery,” he jabs a thumb in the direction behind him, “though that pile o’ bricks is down for the count.”

“Wait- millennium festival?” Byleth looks away, her hand coming up to move her wet bangs from her forehead. Five years? Her hand remains on her cheek as she looks towards the monastery. She lets out a huff and drops her hand. She backtracks to the water and leans over, checking her reflection. Other than her clothes having a few tears and her looking horridly tired, nothing was different. Five years?

“Uh yeah, that’s what I said.”

“What happened to the monastery?”

The man lets out a disbelieving laugh, “there was that battle with the Empire a few years back, surely you know about that?” Byleth nods, and gathers her cloak, wringing out the water. “Well - it was less of a battle and more of a massacre. The archbishop went missing and the whole battle took less than a few hours. The Empire had backup.”

Byleth curses softly and drops the cloak, “of course they did.” She returns her gaze to the direction of the monastery. It was late, and the rumbling of thunder and the darkened clouds only abetted the sinking feeling in her stomach. If it really was the Millenium Festival, her students would be waiting for her. She needed to go back and see if they were safe. Part of her hoped they’d stay away today, but her Deer were stubborn at the best of times. Besides, she needed to see what had happened in her absence.

She pats her hip where her sword lay, and her thigh where her dagger was. Everything seemed to be in order, and so she started towards the monastery. 

“Hey, Lady, where do you think you’re going?” the fisherman asks.

“I gotta see what happened to my students.”

“There are no more students!”

She ignores the man and continues her way there.

\---

Claude landed near the dorms. He let his wyvern snack on the fish inside the semi-dried lake. He traced his gloved hand over the stone walls as he made his way through the monastery. The dining hall looked relatively untouched, the entrance hall on the other hand had pillars that were crumbling around him. He looked out the front gates at the fire-burned field, and his eyes closed tightly.

He could still see the fire shifting with the Empire’s magic and Demonic Beasts, students and soldiers alike burnt alive. He could hear the clanging of swords, the slicing of flesh. Seteth yelling to retreat, the futility in his voice showing Claude the failure they’d wrought. Worst of all, he heard the blood-curdling scream of his teacher. The wide look in her eyes as she had fallen off that cliff, the way he couldn’t see her body at the bottom. He shakes his body, hoping that would put off the nightmares from years ago. 

He’d come here today, at their 5-year-promise. He, against his better judgement, has dreamt that she’d be here today. That she would be sitting at the top of the Goddess Tower, turn to him with the face she’d make when she caught him in schemes, and say, “You’re late!” The vision of her there brought his feet to the tower, the steps that once would bring his breath from him seems to only fill his veins with adrenaline. He can clearly see her there, her now-mint hair flowing in the soft breeze, her eyes that always seemed to soften around him, his Teach… his friend… his…

He steps into the room and the world seems to fade again, she’s not here. He should’ve known. He makes his way to the wide window, looking out to the sky. His heart aches for something that could have been, for something long lost, or was it that something he missed? He closes his eyes for a moment and hears the clacking of heels up the stairs. He doesn’t give in to his imagination. If anyone, it was probably Hilda. Though she’d definitely be complaining all the way up - and loudly.

The clacking stops, and a short gasp comes from his left. His eyes slowly open and when he turns, the skies open out. Sunshine pours through the window, flooding the empty room. Her hair lights up like the sea on a summer day. Her eyes are wide in the disbelief, and he cannot help the love that swells in his heart.

The words that fumble out of his mouth (though with such grace) are: “You overslept, Teach!” he laughs softly as she approaches him, “Pretty rude to keep a fella waiting like that. Wouldn’t you say?” He notices the pink in her cheeks as her lips part.

His hand goes to his hip, their dynamic flowing back effortlessly. Inside, he was screaming. But, his years of practice help him. “What’s with that surprised look, my friend?” He approaches her this time, and her eyes are trained on his.

Softly, he says to ehr, “You didn’t really think I’d given up on you coming back…. Did you?” A pause, and then she crushes into him with such force he rocks back on his heels. 

“Claude!” She gasps between sobs. He holds her to him, and closes his eyes. Tears threatening to spill over his own cheeks. They stay like that, the sun showering them in the most delicate light. When he pulls back her eyes shine brightly, the light reflecting on her tears and the flecks of white, green, and the original blue hues in her eyes. He knows he must look as teary to her as she, him. 

Still, holding her in a hug, though looser now, he turns his head into the sunlight, “Can you feel it? A new dawn is finally here.” He turns back to her, and her left hand comes up to cup his cheek, and her eyes flit over to where his braid once was. His hand comes up to grasp it, though he doesn’t move it. “Not just for us though.” Her eyes come back to him and he leans in, pleading with her to listen, “No… for all of Fodlan.” 

She just nods and hugs him once more, their hands crushed between their bodies, fingers still intertwined.


End file.
